Games have long been an important aspect of computer technology, both from hardware and software standpoints. As computer technology has advanced, so too has the quality and sophistication of computer games. Computer games may be played on personal computers and other hardware and software environments that have non-game uses. Games may also be played in environments dedicated or oriented to game play. For example, a game “console” may include a computer processor, memory and other hardware that is dedicated to game play. Often, game consoles provide audio and visual output through a television, and may be designed to read various data storage media in order to play different games.
In both console and other types of computer games, a user often provides input to the game by way of a game controller. Typically, a game controller is a handheld device that a game player can conveniently hold in one or two hands while playing a game. Designs vary widely, but most game controllers have multiple buttons and other controls which a user can press or otherwise manipulate, and which cause particular signals to be sent to the computer on which the game is running. The game controller, depending on the game software that is currently operating, may then interpret that signal in a manner consistent with the game program. For example, pushing a D-pad or thumb stick in one direction may cause an object in the game to move in a particular manner. Pushing a button or squeezing a trigger may cause a virtual weapon to be fired. These and other types of game play input are well known.
In another aspect of computer games known as on-line play, game players are able to play games with users who may be in distant locations. Instead of requiring all players to be playing a game on the same game console or other computer (which often limits play to persons in the same room), on-line play allows players using different game consoles or other computers to connect those consoles via the Internet or other network connection. With on-line play, persons in different geographic regions can simultaneously play against (or with) each other in the same game. The continued growth of the Internet and proliferation of broadband access to the Internet has no doubt increased the popularity of on-line game playing. It is now possible for tens or even hundreds of persons to be simultaneously playing the same game.
In addition to simulating weapons discharge, character and screen object movements and other types of game-related interactions, inter-player communication is common in on-line game play. Many games allow players to coordinate their efforts, and communication between players is thus helpful. Some games may allow players to trade weapons or other virtual items, to call for help from other players, or to otherwise exchange information. In many cases, players may wish to communicate simply to pass time or for social interaction unrelated to the game they may be playing.
Many games allow players to communicate verbally. A player might speak into a microphone, and other players are then able to hear him or her. Although convenient, this method of communication can be less useful as the number of players increases. For example, if twenty people are playing a game and also sending messages, the chatter level may become so frequent that a player cannot effectively listen for messages of interest and still play the game. A player may also want to limit message recipients out of privacy concerns, to avoid communicating tactics to opposing players, and for various other reasons.
Many games and/or on-line gaming environments allow players to direct textual messages to specific players in the game. However, most game controllers either lack the ability to provide textual input to the game, or have extremely limited text input capabilities. To send a text message, a player is thus required to put down the game controller and use a keyboard. Moreover, many games are played in a living room or other setting in which the player may be sitting on a couch, floor or other location where it might be inconvenient to hold a keyboard while trying to type a message, and where there may be no convenient place to rest a keyboard. It would therefore be useful if a hand-held game controller could also provide the ability to conveniently input text.
There have been various attempts to provide a hand-held device that can be used for both game play and text input. U.S. Pat. No. 6,512,511 (Willner et al.) describes a “hand grippable combined keyboard and game controller system” which is purportedly usable for both textual input and game play. The device is separable into two halves, each of which can be held in one hand and perform the function of the other half. The '511 patent also describes a small computer being interposed between the two halves. However, the described device requires a user to learn a scheme for text input in which multiple buttons dispersed on various surfaces of the device correspond to certain letters or other characters. The user cannot visualize all of those buttons at once. In other words, the user must turn the device over to expose additional buttons positioned on the device underside. U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,288,709, 5,984,548 and 5,874,906 (all to Willner at al.) describe further embodiments of handheld data entry systems that can alternately be used for text entry or game play. However, these additional embodiments also require a user to learn a scheme by which letters and other characters are mapped to particular buttons dispersed across the device, which buttons cannot be simultaneously visualized. The above-described Willner patents also describe activation of a “mode selection switch” to signal whether the device buttons are providing text or character input.
In another line of development, a game controller and keyboard have been combined into a “keyboard controller” sold by the Ascii Co. of Japan. This device comprises a keyboard that is approximately the size of a laptop computer keyboard, and has hand grips and game play controls located at the sides. Although this device does combine game control with text entry, its size may not be optimal under certain conditions. For example, many users could not input text using the keyboard while holding the game controller grips at the side of the device, and would thus have to place the device on a table or other surface in order to enter text.
For these and other reasons, there remains a need for systems and methods that permit convenient text input while using a game controller.